Practicing Letting Go

I got a phone call a couple weeks back from my brother-in-law Gabe. He invited me to participate in a street art event called the KC Chalk Walk. I arrived to find that we had a 16'x16' section that had been reserved for us to create something in. Gabe and his friend Long had already gotten started on a freehand drawing of a geisha, so I jumped right in and it was off to the races. With no real plan in mind and making it up as we went along we spent the beautiful afternoon pressing chalk to pavement. We would take breaks every now and then to toss the frisbee and then get back down to business. 5 hours and 4 large boxes of sidewalk chalk later, we deemed it "finished" and stepped back to admire our collaborative piece. After stretching and momentarily admiring our work, we all departed, leaving behind our geisha. I love the process involved in creating something, but I love even more the act of letting go of what you created. Nothing is permanent and chalk art is the perfect medium to train you that it's all about the moment and the creation, not the glory of the finish. That night, rain was in the forecast and I smiled, knowing that for an afternoon, a simple patch of concrete had been our canvas for a truly beautiful experience. See photos on Flickr.

Seeing Green

It's a tough job, but somebody has to do it. While working on a video project for the agency, we needed to capture some game play from the original Super Mario Brothers on Nintendo. Finding this project almost too good to be true, I had to go back and dig up my old Game Boy for the nostalgia factor. I wish that I had video footage from 1989 because you would see a kid sitting in the back of a big blue Dodge Ram van with vinyl seats, his focus locked on a light grey hand-held brick. Four simple buttons and a control pad were all that was needed to transport me to that magical land. When I describe the game now, I think about how much fun it must have been in the brainstorming stages of designing these games. "No, no, no... see he gets bigger when he eats the mushrooms, and when he grabs the flowers he can shoot an unlimited number of super bouncy balls! Who cares where the balls from! What? No he doesn't have a giant backpack! And yes, the giant seahorses will be breathing fire..." What a trip. Anyone else out there high on Mario?

You Take the Low Road, I'll Take the High Road

Last year, the Show Me State got its collective resources together and put on the Tour of Missouri, a premier cycling stage race. Big names came from around the world to compete and it was an amazing opportunity to see the last race of the Discovery Channel cycling team. From a fan perspective, it was ridiculously cool. I've posted some photos from last year on my Flickr page. This year it has been announced that the race will be one day longer and the yellow jersey winner from last year, George Hincapie will be returning to defend his title. George has always been one of my favorite racers in the pro peloton. He has a ton of class, a heap of talent and an honest approach to everything that he does. He's the only guy to have been on all 7 of Lance's Tour de France winning teams. There are a lot of reasons Lance needed George in the Alps of France, and September will be your chance to find out why he's considered one of the best. His new group of guys, Team High Road will be one to watch for sure as they have been winning stages in every major event this season.

Our Collective Memory

Linkory is a very interesting site with a pretty cool premise. The hope is that people will jump on to Linkory and use it as a social hub for connecting through memories of events. You can join existing conversations such as, "Where were you on September 11th, 2001?" or "What are your memories of last year's family reunion?" Friends and family can join your threads and upload their own versions of events through writing, photos and video. I think that it's a fantastic idea that is just in its infancy. So, jump on, jot down some memories that you're ready to share and see who else has had the same experience. Hey Josh, remember paper routes at 5am in the Iowa snow? I wish I had video. :) Thanks to Joseph Jaffe for the link.

Stefan and Buddha

Came across this beautiful piece about amazing designer/artist/cool guy Stefan Sagmeister, produced by Hillman Curtis Films. Featuring Milton Glaser, another favorite designer and showing off Stefan's work, it is an inspiring short film. I especially appreciate his list of mantras towards the end. My personal favorites, "Keeping a diary supports personal development", "Trying to look good limits my life" and "Worrying solves nothing". And watch for the wall of bananas at the end.

Fedora Style

It's a matter of 16 days, 13 hours and 16 minutes (according to the official Indiana Jones widget) until the release of the next installment of the Indiana Jones saga. I have always loved these films and grew up wishing that I had a bullwhip of my very own. Not only does this mark the day that Dr. Jones returns, it also means another fat paycheck for illustrator Drew Struzan. He's THE master of the movie poster. Everything else is just a knock-off. My Struzan favorites? Check out his 'Drawings' section.

First!

Our first iris of the season popped out yesterday! A bright and enthusiastic greeting for spring.

And the redbuds are in full bloom. That specific color has to be one of my favorite sights come April/May each year. The sun was shining and there were an awful lot of flower beds to inspect for our cats. Diego is always on code red high alert and Winslow is usually getting himself into trouble trying to eat something he shouldn't. All in all it was a great outdoor day for the Kail family.